The Key to My Heart
by heyitscat135
Summary: Ariya Aldmen is a young wizard. When she's left alone in Fiore, she finds herself at a dark guild, "Heaven's Dungeon." When Team Natsu sets out on another mission they run into the same guild. Things turn bleak when her older sister dips his feet into the water. Stay tuned to see how Ariya heals from her brother's wounds, and finds the key to her heart. Full summary inside.
1. Summary

**SUMMARY: Ariya Aldmen is a 10 year old wizard. When she was only 6 years old, her older brother disappeared, so four years later her parents leave to search for him, and she is left alone to wonder the streets of Magnolia. She finds herself at the foot of the dark guild "Heaven's Dungeon" and suffers in silence as they prod her for information about her infamous brother; a dark celestial wizard by the name of Orion Aldmen. As Team Natsu sets out on another mission, they run into "Heaven's Dungeon," and while it seems like the battle is in their hand, how will the game change when Orion dips his feet into the water? Will Ariya make it out alive? Will she be able to overcome her internal scars that Orion left when he disappeared all those years ago? And will a certain ice mage end up being the key to her heart?**


	2. Heaven's Dungeon

**Hello! So, this is my first Fairy Tail Fan fiction. It's going to be based off of the anime, because I've actually never read the manga. (Don't throw bricks please). Anyways, the first part of this story takes place before the time skip, so my OC will be seven years younger than our favorite fairy tail mages! So then the second part of this story will happen after the time skip, so she'll be as old as the gang. Make sense? Okay cool. I'm planning on having romance in this but it's not going to come in until a little later. The beginning's a bit slow, but it gets better I promise! Another thing I should mention is that I have more than just my main OC (Ariya). There are basically four other original characters of mine that play a big role in this story, so there's that. Don't fret, the canon characters are obviously going to play a huge part, but I wanted the story to be completely my own, so there's obviously going to be some new people. :) Without further ado, this is my story. Make sure to review (It'd make my little heart sing).**

 **By the way, if you aren't sure, you pronounce her name are-ee-ya**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, its plot or characters. I own my OCs, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 _ **Ariya**_

The story starts at ten years old. To any story, there are things that happened before the actual plot line, but I'll get to that later. The most important things that happen, happen at the guild.

I looked in the broken mirror one last time before I left. Staring back at me was a small girl with an orange nest for hair and pale skin that was caked with dirt. My shirt was torn to shreds but it covered up the right parts. I looked around for a final glance. I guess I thought about what I could bring, but the fact was I didn't have anything to call my own. So I ran.

I ran as fast as the small legs I had could take me. I ran until I couldn't find any air left to breathe. I held my side in pain and stumbled upon a large willow tree casting a huge shadow and collapsed in the darkness. My vision began to blur and I passed out on the cold cement of Magnolia.

I awoke to a firm shake on my shoulder. "Hey kid!" A voice, presumably a man, yelled. I let out a small moan and opened my eyes slowly; my eyes adjusting to the sharp sunlight. "What are you doing here?" He questioned. As my eyesight was beginning to become clearer, it was easy to see what he looked like. He looked like he was about mid 30s, he had dark green hair, a leather jacket, but the most distinguished characteristic was a scar running down his entire face starting from the middle part of his forehead, passing the bridge of his nose, and stopping as the right corner of his mouth.

"I-I." I looked around frantically. I didn't know how to respond. In all honesty, the man was quite frightening. His appearance was off-putting and I wanted to run away, but I was quickly reminded there was nowhere to run away to. "I don't know." I finally responded. It wasn't the best answer, but it was the truth.

"Get up." He commanded firmly. I tried to stand up, but my legs felt as if they were jello, and I found myself collapsing on the stone ground again. Without any words spoken between the two of us, he yanked my arm and began to drag me. I was under the assumption that I wouldn't be able to walk, but I refused to be a simple body dragged along the pavement. With every step I took, I felt fire surging up and down my legs. The point was that I was walking. That's all that mattered.

"What's your name?" He spoke; his hand never leaving my wrist. It was then when I realized my name was the only thing I had left. I didn't have a family. I didn't have a guild to call my own. No possessions. Not anything. Just my name. That and the shadows. The shadows were everywhere.

"It's Ariya." I said. Even speaking caused a painful sensation in my throat. "Ariya Aldmen." I choked out.

"So you're related to that piece of shit Orion." He spat. _So you know my brother._ I did not respond. He was a memory I wanted nothing more than to just forget. He wasn't a brother. He was a just that; a _memory_. Something that lived on in the past. The sound of retired footsteps hitting the pavement.

"Listen up kid. You're coming with me." If it were a normal day, I'd fight back. I'd use what little magical energy I had left and fight for my life. But this was not a normal day. I did not fight back. I let it happen. I simply allowed him to drag my frail body across the pavement. I would let him do whatever he wanted to. I didn't care. If anything, I _wanted_ him to do something. I begged him to just slit my throat or do something of the sorts. Just to put me out of my misery.

It was a mixture of being dragged across the pavement, and the excruciating task of walking, but eventually we made it to a large, dark building. Two large oak trees grew next to it in a symmetrical fashion and a large oak tree grew in the back; it's old and dusty hair hanging over the front. Through the unclarity of the oak tree the letters were strewn together in a disorderly fashion. From what I could make out, it read "Heaven's Dungeon." A symbol of a tree was found right next to it.

It clicked in my head all at once. This was a dark guild. For a single second, just a moment in time, there was a flicker of fear that was ignited just as quickly as it was extinguished. The man with the enormous stature dragged me all the way to the front doors and then kicked them open. The grand entrance earned glares from the entire guild. The man threw me and I slid across the wood floor; wincing in pain for the thousandth time that day.

"Who's the kid?" A woman in nothing more than a red bra and black shorts spoke as she walked over and examined me. From a distance, she was quite a pretty person, but up close she was truly lovely. Her piercing red eyes were in radiant contrast to her light silver hair. You could tell that those blood red eyes held nothing but malice. Her stunning appearance was a facade. She really could be truly beautiful if she wasn't a part of that guild.

"I've got a hunch. She's the one we've been looking for." The man who carried me crouched over my bruised body and made eye contact with the woman adjacent to him. I glanced to see the edge of her mouth contort to firm a smirk in response to his conjecture.

"Is that so?" She said as she stroked my cheek. I shuddered from utter disgust.

"Little Ariya Aldmen." The man said. For a brief moment, we made eye contact. The scar lying upon his face became more distinguished; as if it were a part of his face just like his eyes, nose, lips, etc. I quickly looked away before he noticed I was staring.

"I'd bet it all that she's Orion's kid sister." The woman said. Orion. That's all they cared about. And rightfully so. Orion Aldmen should have been high on most people's list of priorities. He was a very dangerous man.

"She'll be the key to finding him." The man said, letting a slight chuckle escape his lips.

"That she will." The woman said; completing her smirk by bringing up the curve of the other side of her mouth.

 _ **3rd Person**_

"What about this one Natsu?" The blonde mage pointed to a job request in front of her. The dragon slayer gave it an eye over but shrugged.

"We could. It's just that we've been on these types of missions a countless amount of times." He said. The woman let out a very audible groan.

"Natsu if you don't pick one, I'm not going to be able to pay my rent." She finished the complaint with a crossing of her arms. The pink haired wizard did not respond; but rather continue to skim over the board; never finding a job to his liking. Up and down. Left and right. Nothing seemed interesting.

"We could do this one." A small girl piped in. The team of wizards senior to her glanced over at her suggestion.

'Help out by cleaning a bunch of exceeds! The job includes a full grooming of washing, brushing, and trimming of over 50 exceeds per wizard. Reward: 15,000 Jewels per Wizard.'

"Could you even call that a Wizard's job?" The ice mage pondered.

"There's just no way. I already have to deal with tending to Happy. I've had just about enough of washing exceeds." Natsu said as he thought back to the countless amounts of times the companions have gotten into fights because the blue exceed refused to take a bath. The infamous woman adorned with a full set of armor paced back and forth the wall of requests as her red hair swung behind her. She finally stopped when she found a torn request sheet. The reward had been torn off, but the rest of the flier read: 'Catch some bandits that have been stealing around town. Nobody has succeeded yet.' _How vague._ The redhead thought.

"How about this one?" Erza addressed the group, advertising the poster for all of them. Each mage carefully gazed at its contents.

"That's not exactly descriptive." Gray scoffed.

"I think it's kind of exciting! Like a surprise is in store." The small sky dragon slayer, chirped; offering a bit of positivity to the atmosphere.

"Let's just do it. I don't even care what the job is at this point." Lucy whined. The group of wizards negotiated the matter for a while, but a pissed of Erza wasn't exactly something to negotiate with. So they all agreed on the mission, told Mira about the job, and parted ways in preparation for their next journey.

 _ **Ariya**_

Without even having time to process the events taking place, I was handcuffed to a metal pole. The woman snatched the chair she was sitting in moments ago and slammed it in front of me. She straddled her legs over the seat and laid her arms on the top of the back of the wooden seat.

"Interrogation time." The woman sang. "Now, I'd like to consider myself a nice gal. So I'll make it easy on you." She said as she tapped her foot. Each time her foot met the floor, I swear I could feel the heartbeats of the guild members grow at a rapid pace. "If you talk willingly, you don't have to get hurt even more than you have." She plastered on an obvious inauthentic smile on her face.

"But." She said barely above a whisper as she began to unsheathe a knife. "If you resist, I'll make it as painful as possible." She said as she held up her knife for the whole guild to gaze in awe. It wasn't an ordinary knife you'd use to cut steak. Let's just say that. From the angle I was sitting at, combined with the distance it was hard for me to see what it actually looked like. But little did I know I would grow very familiar with it.

"Tell me about your brother." She stated simply. Silence. Complete and utter silence. Chilling and unresponsive. I embraced the few peaceful seconds I had, for I knew they were would fade much quicker than they were even present. I closed my eyes and imagined a peaceful place. Nothing exactly came to mind. And by nothing, I literally mean nothing. A deep black abyss of nothingness. Perhaps that was the only way to truly be at peace.

My eyes shot open and my fantasy was interrupted by the noise of the woman throwing her chair at me; barely missing my head. She stomped over and crouched down next to me. In one swift movement she left a small cut on my shoulder and I winced slightly as I felt the blood trickle down my shoulder. "You're either going to tell me." She said in a low voice. She was so angry she was shaking. She held her knife so tight her knuckles began to turn white.

"Or I'll force it out of you." She said as her voice started shaking. The knife now was held against my neck. I was mere millimeters away from death. I didn't care. "QUIT PLAYIN' HERO KID!" She yelled so loudly spit flew out of her mouth. My nose wrinkled in disgust. I couldn't believe I found her beautiful when I first saw her. She was ugly in every way.

"Silvia. Try not to kill the girl." The man who dragged me here said. "Remember we need her alive." He added. She started shaking again and I could tell anger was surging through her once more.

"Fine. Whatever you say Seth." With ever word, I didn't know how it was possible, but her fist clenched even tighter around her knife. "I'm giving you one more chance." Her attention reverted back to me. "Tell me what you know about Orion Aldmen." She yelled. I glanced behind her and noticed an empty chair. I shouldn't have done it. Or maybe I should of. I can't decide. I mustered up all the magical energy I could scrape up, and in one swift moment I focused all of magical energy on the chair and it came hurling at her, then it hit her over the head.

I swear I could see bubbles forming in the side of her mouth. She was so angry. In an act of pure wrath she banged my head against the metal pole. Somehow, I held onto my consciousness. She screamed once more and before I could even register the severity of the situation she was on top of me. My hands were still handcuffed to the pole; rendering me in a rather awkward position. That wasn't exactly my biggest issue at the moment however.

"BITCH!" She yelled. She attacked with her knife heading straight for my right eye. In a split second I was graced with enough luck to move just a few millimeters to the left. She missed my eye, but she cut deeply right where my eyebrow ended to my cheekbone. I let out a large shriek in pain.

Suddenly a weight was lifted off my body. Silvia was being held back by Seth, is what I learned his name to be. I had very conflicting feelings about him. She was still thrashing at me, but he managed to keep her back.

"Lock her up!" The woman yelled. I was becoming very familiar with the sound if her screaming.

"Silvia-" a guild member- female- protested.

"DO IT!" She bellowed. The girl- seemingly mid teens, reluctantly got up from her seat. Seth tossed her the key and she caught it without effort. She unlocked the handcuffs and I felt sudden relief without the metal digging into my wrists.

"C'mon kid." She murmured. I followed her as we walked down stairs that creaked with every step. I was led into a dark room where I was locked behind bars. "I'm sorry to do this." The girl said as she pulled out the key. As she walked back up the stairs; leaving me enveloped in darkness it was easy to understand that the latter was a filthy lie.

I spent about four days alone. My only company was the darkness. My bones were quite distinguished, and I could count my ribs easily without sucking in air. I hadn't eaten or drunk any substance and I was flirting with death. I figured that if they needed me alive somebody would bring me food, but this was not the case. I wondered if it was because they feared me because of what I had done to Silvia. At the same time I doubted it. It's not like I was _that_ strong. I was but a ten year old girl. Even if I was strong, my magical energy had been drained for some time.

I lied down, my limbs sprawled out and I was surprised to notice tears. _This is it._ I felt the corners of my lips curl up. _No more suffering._ But it was then when I heard footsteps. At first I assumed it was Silvia, but they were heavy so I assumed the unknown identity was male.

Suddenly, a large loaf of bread was tossed at me through the cell. "Here you go. Eat up." I swore I heard the voice before. Then it hit me, and the conflicted feelings returned. That voice belonged to one person and one person alone.

Seth.


	3. I've Always Been a Prisoner

_**Ariya**_

Why would he be giving me food? Did he want me alive? He was so damn confusing. First he leads me to what could have been my death; a woman named Silvia, then he saves me at the last second. Then, when I am mere seconds away from death, he swoops in and throws me the bread. I couldn't decide who was worse; Silvia or Seth. At least Silvia made it crystal clear whose side she was on.

"Why?" That was the only word I could mutter without feeling an excruciating fiery pain in my throat. I was in such a pitiful state.

"Fine. If you don't want to live I can always take the bread back. I could even schedule a meeting with Silvia if that's what you really want." He spat out. I didn't have the strength to whip out a snarky remark, so I quickly grabbed the bread and shoved it down my throat. In my entire life I never felt such hunger.

His gaze was cold and intense. With one stair my entire existence was known to him. I mustered up the strength to talk to him. "What do you want with me?" I asked.

And maybe it was the darkness that was affecting my reason and judgment, but I swear for a split second his face read confusion.

"You're our key to Orion." He stated with a forged confidence. I crawled closer to the cage.

"And then, when you get to Orion, what then? What, do you think he's just going to cooperate?" I chuckled, and I felt my throat burn. "He won't."

"We'll make him." He said in a low tone as he approached the cage.

"How? It's not gonna be Silvia. Orion will stomp her pretty little face in." That hit a nerve. He banged his head against the bars and I winced.

"You know nothing about Silvia!" He yelled. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh?" I snickered. The burning sensation in my throat was something I was getting used to. "That so? No..." I shook my head. "I think I know quite a bit about that woman."

"You better quit running your mouth." He threatened. I wasn't intimidated. I had reasons to believe I was a key pawn in their game, and then there was the fact that it was Seth. He wasn't like Silvia.

"Or what? Or you're going to kill me?" I asked coyly. His facade dropped. "I didn't think so."

"I may not kill you, but trust me; Silvia is just waiting for her chance to slit your throat." That wasn't a lie. The woman hated me and I knew that. Why wouldn't she hate me? I attacked her without thinking twice.

"I look forward to that day." I smirked. The sound of approaching footsteps cut off our conversation. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or, in this case _she_ shall appear.

"Hey Ariya." She said in a fake happy tone. The familiar feeling of wanting to throw up returned at the sound of her voice. I gave no response. "Oh, you don't want to be talkative today?" She whined. I glanced over at Seth and saw a worried expression on his face. Silvia was getting angry. She was quite a terrifying woman when upset.

"Silvia..." Seth said in a threatening tone. It was the type of tone a parent would use if they saw their child doing something they shouldn't, and it confused me to no end. Was Seth stronger than Silvia? If he could use a tone like that with her, than it only meant he had an authoritative figure over the she-devil.

First he was praising the woman's name; claiming she could kill me at the drop of a dime. Then the next, he acted as if she was an out of control teenager. I just couldn't understand that guy.

"You'll talk." She hissed at me. I was snapped back into reality; Silvia was still there, and she was angry. "It may not be today, but trust me. You'll talk." I wondered if she practiced that malicious smile in the mirror. It seemed so rehearsed in a way. I can't exactly explain it all that well.

 _Oh Orion, where could you possibly be? What are you doing anyways? Who are these people? How are they connected to you?_

 _ **3rd Person**_

"Why'd we have to bring the Pyro!?" Gray whined as the Fire Dragon Slayer struggled to keep in his lunch. The Fairy Tail wizards set out on their quest to stop the bandits, and their only form of transportation happened to be the train. And of course, as per usual arrangement, Natsu was suffering from motion sickness.

"Natsu, would you like it if I casted a healing spell?" The youngest mage in the group asked. For a brief moment, the two dragon slayers made eye contact before Natsu nodded in response. In a matter of seconds, Wendy's dainty hands were hovering above Natsu's sick body. "Troya." she chanted. The relief on Natsu's face came quite quickly as he sat up straight and regained his composure.

"You're a miracle worker Wendy." Natsu said with gratitude.

"I just don't understand how one measly group of bandits could be worth so many jewels." Lucy pondered.

"Something doesn't add up, that's for sure." Erza muttered. It was easy to see that the unspoken leader of the group was very deep in thought.

"I'll take em' all out in one foul swoop!" Natsu yelled confidently with the clench of his fist. Over by the window, a certain celestial spirit could be seen rolling her eyes in response to the overly-confident mage.

"I just hope we can make it out unscathed." Wendy whined. It was understandable for the young girl to be at least a little frightened; the situation was completely ambiguous and who knew what was in store?

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. We've got some of the strongest members of Fairy Tail on our side." Lucy reassured the young girl, and it seemed to work.

Little did they know the power of the magic behind the conflict could easily rival the members traveling in the group.

 _ **Seth**_

Five Days. _Five._ Five whole days before that little girl finally cracked. I'm not sure if it was the lack of food or the complete hopelessness she felt. Nonetheless, she finally agreed to tell us a little bit about her brother. At first I actually thought she was dead. I walked in on her cell and found her limp body sprawled on the floor; usually she sat up against the wall so I had my reasons to be a little worried.

God was I grateful her heart was still beating. If Silvia and I were to ever get in a fight, I'd probably win. Yet, her wrath was nothing to scoff at.

" _Wake up kid." I cry out frantically. How did I let this happen? She was our only way to get to Orion, now everything is ruined. "Ariya!" Her body just lays limp on the cold cement of her cell. I knew we should have been a little nicer to her._

 _What am I going to do?_

 _Create an illusion? I could always create an artificial Ariya and she could answer all of Silvia's questions. That way she wouldn't have to be mad at me._

 _Or... I could replace Silvia's memory. A memory where Ariya lives._

 _That still doesn't change the fact that she's dead._

 _And I killed her._

" _I was never asleep Seth." Oh god. Never have I ever been so happy to hear Ariya. She's alive!_

" _Listen, I personally have no interest in seeing an innocent person die, but Silvia is losing her patience. If you don't start answering some questions; Silvia's gonna take your life." I've always been good at persuading people. The thing is, when someone doesn't have anything they care about, it's not easy. She doesn't even care about living! She's not stupid! She has to know that if she continues this, Silvia will kill her._

 _She's not responding. I think that answers my question._

" _Fine." Do my ears deceive me? "Fine." She repeats. "I'll talk, if you give me some food. And water. Please." She pleads. You shouldn't have told me that Ariya._

 _Now I know you care about living._

 _Now I have something against you._

 _You're so much more naive than you think._

" _It's a deal."_

 _ **Ariya**_

So there I was. Sitting across Seth and Silvia. Why I agreed to answer their questions- I'm not sure. Maybe I really did care about living. For a while I always assumed there was nothing left that could anchor me to the Earth. It was refreshing and also very frightening to know that there was still something they could use against me; my want to live. I sort of felt like she could see every part of me. I felt so exposed and uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Yeah." I responded dryly.

"But what makes him so special? There are horror stories around the land about him summoning beasts, but none of the celestial spirits are really considered monsters." Seth inquired. _You dumbass; he's not summoning any of the celestial spirits. You really_ _ **don't**_ _know anything about him do you?_

"I really don't know. He's just a celestial wizard; just like any other." _God I'm such a liar._ Even though I was dealing out lie after lie they believed every word of it. I couldn't tell if I was a really good liar, they were unbelievably naive, or a little bit of both.

"What's your relationship with your brother?" Silvia asked. For once, I didn't sense any hostility through her voice; she actually seemed genuinely interested. Nonetheless, I had to think of a lie, and quick.

"He's my brother. What else do you want me to say?" I asked. I could feel her glare sharpen.

"You're obviously not on very good terms. I mean, why aren't the two of you traveling together? What happened to your parents?" _Slow down. I thought you were going to ask me questions about my brother; not my parents. I never signed up for a life story._ It was too late to back down. They already gave me some soup and water. I had to hold up my end of the bargain.

"My parents are gone. We don't travel together because my brother left to look for more keys." Hey, I wasn't lying. I just wasn't offering that much detail. For a while it was quiet, and that was something I cherished. You never really find a lot of moments like that; a moment of piece amidst an eternity of chaos.

"Here's a question: where do we find Orion?" Silvia asked. It was like being dangled off a cliff. If I gave her an answer she didn't like, she'd drop me. If my answer appeased her; she'd spare me. I let out a long deep breath; a subconscious stall that most likely only made her more upset.

"I have no idea." I said slowly.

"You useless piece of shit." Silvia whispered as her rage grew by the second.

 _It's not like I disagree with you._

"I think we're done here." Seth cut in before Silvia could have another melt down. I remained seated as the two of them started evacuating our little interrogation room. Seth fled the room first, but before Silvia could go through the door, she stopped right by me and took out her knife. She flicked it open so the blade was millimeters from neck. Déjà vu.

"Don't think this is over." She spat.

And with that she was gone. Seconds later another member of the guild threw me back into my cell. Somehow, I always found my way back there. And if it wasn't that cage, it was another.

 _I've always been a prisoner, haven't I?_


	4. The Black Key

_**Orion**_

" _RI!" I'll admit it. Emi has always been a very… interesting individual. She has some obvious traits that make her stick out like her vibrant yellow hair her ridiculous high pitched voice, and some other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Hell, I didn't even know it was possible but even her damn hairstyle screams annoying. I'm not exactly sure why, but she feels the need to tie all of her long hair into a ridiculous side ponytail. It's pretty easy to see she's not like the rest of us. Maybe that's why I've always been so fond of her._

 _Don't get me wrong, it's nothing like what you're thinking. It's not romantic at all. The best way I can describe our relationship is a father- daughter type of a deal. Or I guess she's kind of like my pet in a way. She's about half my age. Or at least she is mentally. Physically, I have no idea how old she is. That and, she's around half my height too. Use your imagination as to why that would be a bit… inconvenient._

" _Yes Em?" I respond; trying my very hardest to mask my annoyance._

" _Where are we going anyways?" She screeches. I never did get that. I'd say around 99% of the time, she finds herself perched atop my shoulder. I'm not hard of hearing, so why does she feel the need to yell right in my ear?_

" _I told you. There's a dark guild in town that claims to have a black key. I gotta see what that's all about." I roll my eyes. I've lost count at how many times I've told her that one simple phrase._

" _But RI! You're the only one who has black keys!" She squeals._

" _You never know Em." I mutter. It's not that I doubted someone else had a black key, but let's just say I didn't have my heart set on something as unlikely as their claim._

 _Let me explain something. There are basically four types of keys. You've got your silver keys. They're not exactly anything special, but that doesn't mean they aren't valuable. They don't exactly help you a lot in battle, but they're useful in other situations. Then you have the gold keys. Those are not only rare, but pretty precious too. They're useful in battle, and if you can get your hands on them, consider yourself lucky. There's the artificial keys, but their only use is to forcefully close the 12 golden keys. So, in other words they're not super significant._

 _Now the last type of key can often go unnoticed, and they're so rare a lot of people haven't even heard of them. Black keys. They're a lot like golden keys in the way that they're extremely powerful in battle and also very rare. But, there are big differences between black keys and gold keys. The first difference is the number; while there are 12 gold keys, there are only eight black keys- making them obviously a bit harder to get your hands on. While the gold keys are based off the zodiac symbols, black keys are based off the seven deadly sins. So there's the gate of the fallen angel, Lust. The gate of the vampire, Wrath. And so on and so forth._

 _Here's where it gets interesting; it's where the spirits come from that is the big difference. While the spirits of the golden keys come from the Celestial Spirit World, the spirits of the black keys come from a different universe altogether called the Reaper's Palace. The Reaper's Palace is a place full of evil spirits and a lot of people don't even know of its existence._

 _So, how many celestial wizards use black keys instead of gold keys you ask? Well, I've only known one person. That person happens to be me. No, I haven't collected all eight of the black keys, but I'm getting there. Five keys doesn't sound too bad to me._

 _And hey, who says I have to stop at the black keys? The golden keys don't sound bad to me at all. I plan to get my hands and each and every key there is. One step at a time. I'll get there. Believe me. I'll get there._

 _But for now, the first step in that direction is to see if they actually have a black key. And if they do, I will without a doubt take it. Who knows? By the end of today I could be the bearer of six keys as opposed to five. We'll see._

" _RIII." Here we go again._

" _Emi. What do you want?" You could tell by the strain of my voice the imbecilic little girl was getting on my last nerve._

" _What's gonna happen when you have all eight of the keys Ri?" She asks. I can't help but smirk at the thought. What_ isn't _going to happen is more like the question._

 _Madness will take over the world. The universe will be enveloped in darkness. All of the sins that mankind suffers with will be brought to light. Silly little Em. You naive child._

" _What makes you so confident I'll get all of them?" I ask coyly._

" _Because you're gonna get every last one of the keys! We'll get all the silver ones and all the gold ones AND all the black ones!" She yelled. Even though she could be perceived as a child, she's always been a bit avaricious._

" _Lust and Envy. Sloth and Gluttony. Wrath and Greed and Pride." She sings. What a happy tune for such an evil topic._

 _Lust and envy. Sloth and gluttony. Wrath and greed and pride. I know my sins, but do you know yours?_

 _ **3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **Person**_

"Finally!" Natsu roared. The team had finally arrived at the neighboring town and the dragon slayer cherished the solid ground.

"I'm hungry Natsu!" Happy whined. "Can we please get some fish?"

"We need to focus on the task at hand. The only thing I can suggest is that we start asking around about these bandits, because the request sheet doesn't specify who, what, where, when, or why." Erza explained.

"Remind me again why we took this task." Gray muttered. Erza reared her head and glared daggers at the Raven-haired man.

"Because it sounded interesting to me, do you have a problem with that Fullbuster?" She screeched.

"N-no ma'm." Gray managed to sputter out through his fear.

"Yeah, we should be keeping our head on the mission, but at the same time starving to death isn't gonna do us any good. Why don't we go to a restaurant and then we can ask around there after we eat?" Lucy suggested. At first, nobody said anything, but there was an unspoken agreement between the mages, and Wendy was kind enough to seal the deal.

"That sounds like a great idea!" She exclaimed. And so, they found a nice place to eat, but Erza kept the filer close to her, and never forgot the goal of the mission.

 _ **Orion**_

"RIIII!" I was really at my wits end. I was fond Emi, but her screeching was getting out of control.

"What. Do. You. WANT!?" I snapped. I could hear a tiny growl come out of the girl before she yanked on my hair.

"I'm hungry you big MEANIE!" I started to panic. I could hear the slight crack in her voice that always happened right before she was about to cry. Oh how I hated it when she cried. Normally, a little tike crying didn't exactly pull on my heart strings; it just annoyed the shit out of me. But if Emi cried; well that was a whole new playing field. I absolutely despised it when she cried. It's not so much of the want to make her happy instead of crying; it was the want to not feel guilty. A very selfish thing really.

"Okay." I said softly. "We'll stop somewhere in town." That shut her up. It also saved me the task of calming her down while she was in tears, and that was not a painless chore.

 _ **Seth**_

"I can't believe it." _Trust me, neither can I._ "We _actually_ got in contact with him." She said. It had been about three days sense our interrogation with Orion's kid sister. One of our spies that worked for our guild got word that Orion had been seen traveling pretty close to where we operated. It was a golden opportunity. We sent out a scout team and they returned in three days time. So there I was with Silvia, celebrating our success.

"Silvia, do you even understand the situation?" I asked cautiously. She raised her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" She asked coyly. Sometimes I harbored a genuine hatred for that woman.

"We don't have a black key. Do you understand what he's going to do to us once he finds out? We aren't going to make it out of this unscathed." I hissed. She took another sip of her wine before speaking again.

"Ah, therein lies your mistake. I doubt he'll cause any damage if we have his own flesh and blood as hostage." She smirked. She was evil. She was cunning. But she was clever and intelligent. I had to give her that. "And besides," She added. "We may not have a key, but we have you."

"I think I know where you're going with this." I muttered.

"That's right. You're going to create an illusion. Creating a small thing like a key should be child's play to you." She said. It happened quickly, and it happened subtly, but Silvia slowly started scooting next to me. _Just what exactly do you think you're doing Silvia?_

"I know you can do it." She whispered seductively. In one swift movement, her hand was on my thigh and she was kissing me. It's not like it shocked me; Silvia and I always had a complicated relationship. At first I did nothing, but I slowly started kissing her back.

I wish I could say it was because I actually loved the woman, but it wasn't. It was because I didn't have a good enough reason not to. There she was, a sexy woman who was throwing herself at me.

Who was I to say no?

 _ **Orion**_

The very back of the restaurant has really only ever been the safe place to eat for someone like me. It leaves only a minimal chance for someone who might now me to find me. I did wear a hood to cover my face, so that helped, but let's just say I was a pretty infamous person and bringing me back- dead or alive- came at a high price. I didn't have any complaints though. It just made the job all the more fun.

A woman with short pink hair took our orders and I must have had excellent luck, because she didn't recognize me. "I'm hungry!" Emi shouted. I rolled my eyes. It didn't matter what I gave her. It was never enough. "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry!" She wailed. I looked around and noticed a group of people giving us confused looks. I shot Emi a glare.

"Pipe down." I whisper-shouted. She returned my glare with one of her own. She didn't like being told what to do. Understandable for a little kid I suppose, but it still got on my last nerve. She kept shouting and yelling about her ever-so-important and growing hunger when I noticed that the small glances the group of people gave me, were turning into somewhat of a starring contest; especially the blonde one.

 _ **Lucy**_

"Lucy stop starring!" Gray said sternly, but still managed to say under his breath. I couldn't help myself. I hate seeing children in dismay. The worst part was, the man accompanying her didn't seem to care all that much. I couldn't help myself if a few glares got out here and there. "It's his kid, not ours." Gray added.

"Maybe she'll calm down when she gets her food. I know Happy shuts up when he has a mouth full of fish." Natsu commented. Even if that was true, the man was still enraging me. With each passing moment, the child grew louder. So I did what I had to do.

I started getting up and ignored the comments of my group telling me to do the opposite of what I was doing. Even Wendy, I never thought could have the guts to go against anyone's actions spoke up. "I don't think this is a good idea…" She muttered.

"It'll be fine." I responded. I took confident steps over to the man and the child. "Are you okay?" I first asked the girl.

"I'm hungry!" The girl yelled with a distressed expression played across her face. I couldn't help but glare at the man once more. It felt nice to do it so up close and personal.

"You need to console your daughter." I reprimanded. He raised his eyebrows and finally took of the hood he was wearing. I was surprised to see someone who looked to be my age. Never would I imagine someone like him to have a daughter; especially her age. Something didn't add up.

"For one thing, she isn't my child." He scoffed. Admittedly, as much as I hate to admit it, the man was attractive. His orange hair, even though messy, perfectly framed his face and his teal eyes were intriguing. "And she gets like this when she doesn't get what she wants." He explained. "She's actually unbelievably greedy." He whispered and then topped it off with a smirk.

"Shut up RI!" The girl retorted.

"She can't help it; she's just a kid." I defended her. The girl smiled through her long yellow- blonde hair, and seemed somewhat surprised that I said anything.

"See, that's where you're mistaken." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You see, Emi here isn't human. She is most likely older than you and I combined. Unless, of course you might be a spirit too." He said with a smile. My eyes widened and my mouth opened. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. A spirit? How? Even if she was a spirit, why would she be in Earthland?

"You're kidding." I said confidently.

"Fraid not." He shrugged. He didn't seem like he was lying, but then again there was nothing to back up the truth.

"Prove it." I said, taking a seat across from him. I could tell he was a bit taken back by my boldness. Nonetheless, he rolled his eyes and grabbed a key from his belt. He waved it in front of my face.

"Gate of the innocent beauty; Greed." He said as if it were no big deal. The key was all black and had a heart at the top with two symmetrical hands blossoming out of it. It looked like a celestial spirit key, but it wasn't gold or silver like any of mine. I was in complete awe. My heart started beating rapidly and I began sweating. If it were under different circumstances I would have brushed it off as a fake. The _only_ reason I was able to believe this man, and understand that it was in fact a real key, was one simple fact.

I myself, at the time, was in possession of a black key. They were real alright. Very real, and beyond terrifying.


	5. Right Before Terror

**Previously on "The Key to My Heart"**

" _See, that's where you're mistaken." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You see, Emi here isn't human. She is most likely older than you and I combined. Unless, of course you might be a spirit too." He said with a smile. My eyes widened and my mouth opened. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. A spirit? How? Even if she was a spirit, why would she be in Earthland?_

" _You're kidding." I said confidently._

" _Fraid not." He shrugged. He didn't seem like he was lying, but then again there was nothing to back up the truth._

" _Prove it." I said, taking a seat across from him. I could tell he was a bit taken back by my boldness. Nonetheless, he rolled his eyes and grabbed a key from his belt. He waved it in front of my face._

" _Gate of the innocent beauty; Greed." He said as if it were no big deal. The key was all black and had a heart at the top with two symmetrical hands blossoming out of it. It looked like a celestial spirit key, but it wasn't gold or silver like any of mine. I was in complete awe. My heart started beating rapidly and I began sweating. If it were under different circumstances I would have brushed it off as a fake. The only reason I was able to believe this man, and understand that it was in fact a real key, was one simple fact._

 _I myself, at the time, was in possession of a black key. They were real alright. Very real, and beyond terrifying._

 _ **Lucy**_

"Is that real!?" It probably wasn't the best response considering the situation, but it's what came out of my mouth. I couldn't help it.

"I've got the spirit to prove it." He quipped. I looked over at my group and they were eyeing us suspiciously; especially Natsu. He was always extremely protective of me.

"Yep yep yep!" The girl- or greed- sang. "I'm greed, but you can call me Emi." I tried to keep my composure, and only smiled at the girl. I couldn't believe she was a spirit. How long had she been in Earthland? If she was in Earthland for an extended period of time, how was she surviving? There were so many unanswered questions.

"How do you have a spirit outside of the celestial spirit world? They can't stay in Earthland for an extended period of time." I explained in a distressed tone. The situation turned from defending an adolescent child to finding out more about the mysterious black key I possessed.

"Well for one, spirits with black keys don't reside in the celestial spirit world; they live in the Reaper's Palace." As he said this, the waitress came with their food and I was grateful that the little girl, or spirit, would finally give us some peace and quiet because at that point I was completely invested. He dipped his spoon in his soup and spoke again. "Besides, why do you know so much about this anyways?" He asked with a sly expression. He knew. He knew I was a celestial wizard. I don't know how, but he did. There was no point in hiding it.

"I'm a celestial wizard." I said with confidence.

"That's one thing we have in common." He cocked his head to the side and I'm not sure if he knew what he was doing, but he so effortlessly looked cute. It wasn't love at first sight or anything like that, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was happy to find another celestial wizard; especially one so easy on the eyes.

"Wait do you have more than one of these black keys?" I pried. "How many of them are there anyways?"

"I have five of them, and there are eight in total. Seven of them for the deadly sins, and then the eight one is the 13th zodiac gate." He explained. I thought about the one I had in my pocket at the time of the conversation. It had the letter E etched into the top and then it made sense. E for envy. I never opened that gate, and I obviously never made a contract with it; most likely out of the fear of what would happen if I did end up opening it. I mean the key was _black_ ; I had never seen anything like it. "And do you have any of the gold keys, unnamed celestial wizard?"

"I have 10 of them. And my name is Lucy." I said. When I told him my name, it was the first time I actually used a nice, warm tone. Up until that point, I came across pretty cold and stand-offish.

"Wooow. 10 keys. Impressive." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, but I had to guess it was probably the latter. "I'm Ri, by the way." _What a strange name._ "Kind of like Ryan, but without the n." He chuckled a little bit, and I did as well; his laugh was contagious. "Hey," he leaned in and whispered, "don't look now, but your little group of friends has been eyeing me ever sense you sat down."

"Oh, sorry about that. They're a bit overprotective." I said with a sheepish smile.

"This food is good! But I want dessert!" Emi whined. _Oh brother._

"Yeah okay." Ri shrugged. "Hey, she is the physical embodiment of greed; I'm not surprised if she wants dessert." He said to nobody in particular, but if I had to choose someone whom it was directed at, I'd say it was me.

"Emi, can I ask you something?" I said. With her mouth still stuffed with food, she responded, and I tried to mask my disgust.

"Okay." She responded.

"How are you here? I mean, in Earthland. Isn't it kind of hard for you to be here for an extended period of time?" I asked.

"Nope! Ri-ri is the strongest wizard! So because I made a contract with him, I can stay here as long as I want!" _Oh yeah, that just makes a great deal of sense._

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Ri said. "But I'm afraid I'd need a little bit more time to explain that, so hopefully we can see each other again." He said. I'm not sure if he was trying to be seductive, but let's just say if that was his goal, he hit the nail on the head.

"Yeah, well I'd love to spend more time with a fellow celestial wizard. They're really not all the common these days." I said. There was a hint of sadness at the end of my comment.

"I could probably even help you get the remaining two gold keys if we're lucky." He smiled. That time it was more of a genuine smile as opposed to his usual sly smirk. _And I can help you get the remaining black keys. But I won't tell you that for now._

"That would be a dream come true." I gushed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Natsu appeared. He stood at the foot of the table and glared daggers at Ri. I sweat dropped and held my breath in preparation for what he was going to dish out on him.

"C'mon Lucy, I don't trust this guy." He hissed. Ri simply smiled at Natsu, which knowing him probably only enraged him even more.

"Natsu, he's really an okay guy." I explained. The attempts to calm him down came out unsuccessful.

"Still, I don't want you spending too much time around a stranger." He said as he grabbed my arm.

"Ah, but- Natsu is it? Lucy and I are no longer strangers you see." He explained. With his free hand, I could hear his fist clench.

"You wanna go pretty boy?" He yelled. Ri simply shrugged.

"Not really. I'd rather continue my conversation with Lucy if that's okay with you." With each passing moment Natsu only got angrier.

"Ri will kick your ass! He's the strongest wizard!" Emi yelled. It was a strange phenomenon to see a curse word come out of such a small and fragile little girl. It just didn't fit.

"We could always fight and test that theory." Natsu responded. I could feel the situation escalate and I knew I had to step in.

"I'm sorry Ri! My _idiot_ _teammate_ has issues understanding that _I can talk who I want to_ , let's schedule another time to meet and talk yeah?" With every word I spoke about Natsu, everyone around us could tell I was really directing it towards him. Before Natsu could open his mouth to respond, Ri cut in.

"How about tonight? There is a tea shop next door, why don't we meet there at say, nine?" He smiled and Natsu's grip around my arm tightened.

"Sounds good! See you tonight Ri! And you too Emi!" I said as my knucklehead teammate pulled me away.

 _ **Ariya**_

"Good news!" Silvia spat as she stood right outside my cell. I think the main rule I had to keep in mind with that woman is that whatever she said; she meant the exact opposite. Good news meant I was having a public execution or something of the sorts. Nontheless I didn't respond. "Don't you want to know Ari?" She knew I hated it when she called me by a nickname. That's exactly why she did it. God she was such a sadist. I wasn't going to placate her though. I would keep my lips shut. "You're no fun you little bitch!" She yelled as she hit the bars.

Any normal person would have probably winced, or _something._ But I just got so used to little things like that. Small acts of violence became commonplace in that stuffy and bone-chilling cell. I was completely unresponsive.

"But Ari! You're having a family reunion!" She sang. My heart dropped. My world felt as if it was collapsing. Every negative feeling that I could have possibly felt happened all at once and my body was reacting and a physical way too. I held my mouth to cover any vomit that could have very well came out of me at any given moment. I felt tears streaming down my face, but I couldn't seem to recall when I started crying.

"Isn't that GREAT!?" She yelled. I started to shake violently. Horrible memories involving Orion began to bubble up to surface and I felt and overwhelming feeling of terror wash over my body. Not Orion. Anything but Orion. The public execution idea was beginning to sound ideal. "I for one am extremely excited!" Suddenly she bent down and got as close to me as she could for being outside of my cell.

"The dark celestial wizard. The one and only. He's gonna be HERE!" She squealed. I wonder if she ever thought about the potential danger she was putting herself in. No, not just herself. Seth as well. Hell _everyone_ in her guild had the potential of dying if he stepped foot in Heaven's Dungeon. If he would even stop there that is.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." I whispered.

"What's that?" She responded, but I could sense her malicious underlying tone. "Say it again bitch."

"He'll kill you without a second thought or hesitation." I muttered.

"Not if we have something he wants." She cooed. Admittedly, that did interest me. What could they possibly have that Orion would want? The only thing he was after were the keys, and it's not like they were handed out like pieces of candy.

"What could you possibly have?" I asked.

"A black key." She said nonchalantly. I didn't believe her for a single second. There was no way. "And, if worse comes to worse…" she chuckled, "we have you." I couldn't help but laugh out loud. She was so ignorant.

"You idiot." I said to myself. "You think he gives a damn about me? I'm nothing to him. He cares more about one of his eyelashes than he does about me." I explained.

"Then I guess if he has no use for you, we'll kill you." She smiled. What she didn't understand, was that if she did that, she'd really be doing me a favor. Silvia thought she was some genius; that she was always one step ahead of the game and she had everything figured out. She was a fool. Hell, I doubt she even knew what game she was playing, let alone being one step ahead of it. "I've been itching to end your life for quite some time now." She unsheathed her knife and held it close to her. I kind of had to wonder how many lives she took with just that one piece of metal.

"What are you waiting for? Do it. Kill me. If you're itching to kill me, why wait?" In a way, I guess I was trying to persuade her to do it. I would have done _anything_ not to see Orion. _Anything._

"Patience Ari. You'll get your time to die, don't worry. And when I do kill you, I'll make sure to make it as slow and painful as I can." She whispered. When I first met Silvia, she shocked me. I didn't understand how someone as small and beautiful as she was on the outside could be so cruel and vicious on the inside. It just didn't seem to fit. Then again, I had witness a similar phenomenon with someone else before.

Orion. On the outside, he was a charming and handsome man. But then, once he had you reeled in, he would destroy every last ounce of your life and not think twice about it. In comparison to Orion, Silvia was a walk in the park.

 _Where are you Orion? Whose life are you ruining this week?_

 _ **Orion**_

"Ri, please explain what you're even doing." We were in a small inn, and Emi was bouncing up and down on her bed. I was busy getting ready for my "date." I tried to make myself look as normal as possible to keep away any suspicion. I wasn't exactly used to wearing "normal" clothes, so I felt a little out of place in a button up shirt and black pants. I even took my gloves and my cloak off.

"It's not what you think Emi." I said, throwing on some shoes. "You don't actually think I was interested in the girl do you?" She stopped jumping on the bed, and sat at the end of it.

"You get all the girls Ri! Every last one of them!" She squealed. There was that avaricious outlook on life again.

"Listen, this is a golden opportunity for me. I reel her in, pretend like I'm interested in her, and then take her keys right from under her." I explained.

"Yay! We're gonna get every single one of the keys! All of them! All of them!" She continued to jump on the bed as she fantasized about a world where she could have any possession she wanted, including the keys.

"Well I can tell you this: meeting up with this chick is the first step to our dream, Emi." I said. "And tomorrow, we might just get ourselves another black key if Heaven's Dungeon turns out to be the real deal."

"But what if they aren't?" She pondered. I smirked. What a stupid question.

"We kill them Emi. Every last member." I shrugged.

"And when you're done with Lucy!?" She was beginning to catch on to the trend. I had to smile at the thought. It had been a long time sense I took the life of something to beautiful. I couldn't wait to see the look on her teammates faces.

"We kill her too."

"Yaaay!" She squealed, throwing her pillow up in the air in sheer delight.

"Well, let's get going. We don't want to keep a fellow celestial wizard waiting." And with that, we departed.


	6. On the Move

**Hi. I know what you're thinking. "What the hell? I clicked on a Gray x OC story. Where is he? Where's the romance? What even?" Well for one thing, I did warn you. I said the romance isn't going to come in until later. This is not a short story, and I don't feel the need to rush things. FEAR NOT! I promise you it will happen. Team Natsu has to meet Ariya, and that's coming up. As soon as they meet, a relationship (it won't be romantic at first because Gray is seven years older than Ariya) will kick off and Gray will start playing a WAY bigger role. Trust me I have some awesome plans. :) And, for those of you who came for Natsu and Lucy, well, that's starting pretty much… now. I mean they won't be like making out in** _ **this**_ **chapter (you have to lead up to those things people) but it does at least** _ **hint**_ **at it in this chapter. ;) So enjoy!**

 _ **Lucy**_

"Erza," I approached the red-headed woman with a bit of hesitation. It's not like I was afraid or anything, but the topic I had in mind was a bit unsettling. She turned her head and waited for me to talk again. "Can I talk to you about something?" A delicate smile appeared; something a bit rare for her.

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?" She asked. I sat on my bed that was adjacent to hers. After eating, we rented two rooms at a small inn in town; one for the girls and one for the guys.

"It's just..." I sighed. How do I even bring up a topic like this? "Well the guy at the cafe asked me to meet him at the tea shop tonight, and I'm just not sure if he is implying that it's a date or..." I trailed off.

"What if it is a date?" She asked. "What's the harm in that?" I myself didn't even know. I had an uneasy feeling about the whole idea. It wasn't Ri per say, but whatever it was I couldn't shake it.

"I don't know exactly." I mumbled. Just then, Wendy came out of the bathroom.

"Excuse me if I'm interrupting," she said shyly. "But I couldn't help but hear you guys from the bathroom. I think if you want to go you shouldn't let anything hold you back." She said, taking a seat next to me.

"I agree. Besides, what do you think is holding you back anyways?" Erza asked.

"I... I don't know." I stuttered. "I just have this weird feeling. Almost... like guilt I guess. That's the best way to put it." I trailed off.

"Who's making you feel guilty?" Erza asked. A sudden giggle came out of Wendy.

"I bet it's Natsu." She exclaimed through laughter.

"Of course! He's jealous!" Erza stated. I could feel my cheeks heat up.

"Why would Natsu be jealous!?" I said a bit flustered.

"Because he has a crush on you!" Wendy cooed. Erza nodded in agreement.

"No doubt about it." She added.

"What!? That's absurd!" I yelled. "Natsu's _way_ too dense!" The two of my friends laughed in unison in response to my comment. **A/N: I told you people it was going to be in this chapter. Okay sorry. Go on with the story.**

"Maybe, but even if he doesn't realize it, it seems to me like he's in love." Erza proclaimed. My heart started to beat at a ridiculous pace and I could even feel myself sweat.

"What!? C'mon guys it's NATSU! Where is this even coming from!?" I yelled.

"We've pretty much always known." Wendy said as if it was no big deal. I let out long and heavy breaths and tried to talk through my embarrassment.

"Who else has this idea?" I asked. I sincerely hoped it wasn't a popular thought at the guild.

"Pretty much everyone except for the two of you." Erza said. I felt as if my heart ceased to beat and I fell back on my bed. An idea popped into my head and I violently sat up.

"Wait a second! Does anyone think I like him back!?" I yelled.

"It's about split down the middle." Erza responded. A second later, I was back in the position I was a moment earlier; flopped on my bed with tiny sweat droplets on my forehead.

"Okay it's settled!" I shot up from my bed again and threw my hand in the air. "I'm going on that date with Ri! Natsu can't tell me what to do!"

"He's gonna be pissed." Erza muttered. As if on cue, we were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Open up!" The knocks got more rapid and louder. "Guys!" Natsu yelled.

"The manager of the inn said he saw some of the bandits run by!" Gray added. "We gotta go now!" They sounded serious. All three of us exchanged a look and instantly made a move. Wendy threw her hair into a ponytail, Erza reequipped into her armor, and I grabbed my keys.

I swung the door open, and without even exchanging greetings we ran down the stairs of the inn. Natsu approached the front desk and practically lunged himself on top of it.

"Where'd you see them?!" He demanded.

"They passed by here. They were going down the road that way." An elderly man pointed left.

"There's no time to question anything else! We have to go now!" Erza demanded. We all ran out of the inn and down the road in the direction the man pointed. While running, my hands brushed against the tiny pouch holding my keys.

My heart started beating once more; similar to before in the room, but for different reasons. A small smile crept on my face. That was the very reason I joined Fairy Tail. The rush I got before jumping into battle was indescribable. Sure, I may have been a bit scared, but I was ready for anything.

 _ **Seth**_

"How long has it been!?" Silvia yelled, stomping her foot.

"Only around ten minutes." I mumbled in response.

"It usually doesn't take this long!" She whined.

"Patience Silvia." I said in a low tone. She whipped around and glared daggers at me. She slowly approached me until we were only inches apart.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do Seth." She hissed. It took all of my will not to roll my eyes. The woman was naturally hostile, but when angry she was practically a demon.

"Just try to relax." I said in a kinder tone.

"Fine." She caved. From the other room, you could have heard the hills of her boots click as she stomped off. The woman really sickened me from time to time.

"Thaddeus!" I yelled. A few moments later, one of my companions was before me. "What's the deal? Where's the group we sent out?" I asked. The boy sighed and brushed some of his purple hair out of his eyes.

"Listen. We've got some bad news. There's a group of wizards running after them. I think they were sent here to get rid of them." He said. The kid was interesting to say the least. Even under serious situations like this, he managed to stay almost _unhealthily_ calm. Nothing intrigued him. Life was just one long boring dream to him. You could hold up a knife to his throat and he wouldn't even flinch. It'd be a lie to say it wasn't a bit unsettling to be around Thaddeus.

"We're fucked." I muttered.

"Not exactly." He responded. "If you get out there right now, create some illusions to replace our group, then get them back here, there's a possibility the wizards won't even know the difference." He said. It was subtle, and you had to have keen eyes to pick it up, but I could have sworn I saw him smirk, but only for a split second.

"Alright I'm out then. What's there location?" I said with one foot already out the door. He started walking over to his table and sat down. He peered into the lacrama ball and chewed on his lip.

"There's a tea shop called 'The Black Kettle' just a block south from here. I'll tell them to meet up with you in there." He said, with his ever-preasent bored expression.

"Right." I nodded, walking out the door.

"Good luck!" He yelled. It was almost a joke to hear words like that come out of someone like him. I felt bad for him in a way. I couldn't imagine going through life like everything was a chore. _What's your angle Thaddeus?_

 _ **Ariya- Flashback**_

" _Here you go." Thaddeus slid a tray of food under my cell and started to walk off._

" _Why are you here?" I asked before he was able to make it back up the stairs. He stopped, and I heard him groan in annoyance then turn around._

" _Hm?" He responded._

" _Why are you here?" I repeated. He walked over and sat against the wall next to my cell. He never looked me in the eyes, but I don't think it was personal; just an odd personality quirk he had. He seemed to have a lot of those. Despite the fact I had only just met him that was pretty easy to figure out._

" _Your question is far too vague." He exclaimed while chewing on his fingernail._

" _Yeah?" I responded with coyness. "It's not a hard question Thaddeus." I grabbed the bread and picked out the little pieces of mold growing before breaking it and putting it in my mouth._

" _You mean down here next to your cell, in Heaven's Dungeon, or on this planet? The first two answers have a varying ease in answering but the last one I'm afraid is left to be uncovered." It was things like those that made me understand him a little bit more. He would never admit it, but Thaddeus was one of those people that were extremely sad. He'd never show it, but it would slip out in the things he said once in a blue moon._

" _You're down here because Seth told you to give me my daily meal. I'm not sure why you're on this planet; I'm not sure why any of us are here. I'm asking why you're in a guild like Heaven's Dungeon. You aren't gaining anything by being here." I commented. He remained stationary in his position. He didn't flinch or do anything in response to my comment._

" _Tell me Ariya, why does one join a guild that isn't dark like Heaven's Dungeon?" He asked. It was a strange question, but I didn't know what else to do other than answer his question._

" _Other than the obvious; getting jobs so they can pay bills and such, I guess it's to protect what they love." He explained. "I… am different." He exclaimed. He took a break from chewing on his nail and started tapping his fingers on the cold cement. "I don't have any family left. As a child I was always a bit strange so I never made any friends. I don't have any pets or anything of the sorts. In other words, I don't have anything that I love; nothing that I call close to me that I fight for. So, Heaven's Dungeon is simply something I have in my life to pass time." He said nonchalantly. There was part of me that couldn't believe- couldn't understand the words he spoke. But then there was another part of me that felt a familiar type of vibe when he spoke._

 _He was lonely. He was lost. He wouldn't admit it, but he was confused. I guess I saw myself in him. In some ways, it was like looking into a mirror. What did I have that I loved? What did I have that I fought for? I had to draw a blank. Something told me he did too._

" _Get out of here then." I finally said after a moment of silence. "Go join an official guild. Make friends. Fight for them! Look, if you stay here for too long, Seth and Silvia will never let you escape!" I yelled. He stopped tapping the floor, and for once looked me in the eyes._

" _Ariya, I'm much too far gone. My sins are to0 great, and I'm in too deep." He explained; standing up and walking to the stairs._

" _No. You could escape if you wanted to, but you're afraid. You've never known love, so you don't even want to seek it anymore." I said. When he responded, he didn't turn around like he did last time._

" _Maybe you're right. If it's any constellation, I do hope you can make it out of here Ariya. Whatever you do, don't become like me please. Find something that you can fight for." In a blink of an eye I saw two different possibilities. There was one where I had a group of friends I could call my own, a beautiful guild, and above all a reason to fight. Then there was the one where I turned into an emotionless and lonely being._

 _Looking at Thaddeus was like looking at my future. A future I hoped to avoid, but a future that was probable._

 _ **Seth**_

When I arrived at the tea shop, the group of bandits from Heaven's Dungeon were out of breath, and in a pitiful position. There were five of them; creating an illusion wouldn't be that hard. "Seth!" One of them ran up to me and sighed in relief. "Thank God you're here." The rest of the group followed suite and walked up to me.

"There's a group of wizards after us! If the towns-folk keep giving them directions they're gonna find us in no time!" He complained. I sighed in disappointment.

"Get back to the guild." I said in a low tone. They could all tell I was being deadly serious.

"R-right!" One of them managed to stutter through their fear. They all ran out of the tea shop and I watched them sprint in the direction of the guild. I shook my head and walked out. I found a nice place in the back of the shop; clear of any patrons.

"Illusion make: bandits." I yelled out the spell name and a black magic circle appeared. Moments later, five bandits (identical to the real members of my guild) appeared. "Go now!" I instructed. Without saying another word, all five of my illusions ran off.

 _What will you do now wizards?_

 **A/N: Okay, so I was thinking about it, and I really haven't explained what my OC's look like. Sure, I drop hints at their appearance, but I know if I were reading I'd be curious. So far I have six OCs; Ariya, Orion, Emi, Thaddeus, Seth, and Silvia. (Yikes I know that's a lot! I hope you don't mind). I'm just letting you know there are going to be more because I have to introduce the rest of Orion's spirits, but I guess I wouldn't consider them super important because in a way they're just attachments of Orion. If your feeling overwhelmed, don't worry because not only are the main characters obviously going to be a big part, but other than the spirits I'm 99% sure I won't introduce anymore characters. Ariya is 11 years old (pre time skip). She has slightly wavy orange hair, and turquoise eyes. Orion, is her sibling, so he has the same colored hair and eyes and slightly long, unkept hair. Emi has vibrant yellow-blonde hair and black eyes. Thaddeus has lavender colored hair that he pulls into a thin ponytail and bangs that often get in his gray eyes. Seth has dark green hair and dull orange eyes. Aaaand Silvia (honestly she's my favorite idek) has short white hair styled in a bob, and red eyes. I have made a few sketches of some of them, and eventually I'm going to post them of my deviant art, but they aren't finished. :)**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying the story; I'm planning on updating soon :)**


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